AnimalsCoral Reef
Stonefish Fun facts for kids
Synanceia verrucosa
The stonefish lives on coral reefs in Indian and Pacific Oceans and eats small fish and shrimp, in one gulp.
- Where it lives
- on coral reefs in Indian and Pacific Oceans
- What it eats
- small fish and shrimp, in one gulp
- How big it is
- about as long as a cat
Fun facts about the stonefish
The ones Sammy likes best. She tells them in the game, too.
It looks so much like a rock covered in seaweed that fish swim right up to it without noticing.
It opens its huge mouth and sucks in a fish or shrimp faster than you can blink.
It has a secret spine under each eye that it can flick out like a pocketknife blade.
When the sea goes out at low tide, it can stay alive out of water for many hours, maybe even a whole day.
Many people call it the most venomous fish in the whole world.
It uses its big side fins to scoop sand over its body and hide partly in the sand.
Every now and then it sheds its old skin, which helps keep it clean.
It can sit perfectly still for hours, waiting for a snack to swim close.
Riddle
Can a friend guess it?
Read the clues to someone, one at a time, without saying the animal. How many clues do they need? Fewer is better, just like in the game.
I live in warm, shallow sea water near coral reefs.
I can sit perfectly still for hours, waiting for a snack to swim close.
I open my huge mouth and suck in a shrimp faster than you can blink.
Sharp spines on my back carry strong venom, so please never step on me!
I look so much like a rock covered in seaweed that little fish swim right up to me.
Sammy might be thinking of a stonefish.
In Thought Zoo, Sammy picks an animal and you ask her yes-or-no questions to find it. You'll find the stonefish in the Coral Reef adventure.
Play the Coral ReefComing to iPad, iPhone and Android on 12 January 2027
